Precursor EXAMPLE/Subspecies
As they became increasingly divided by national lines, the precursors developed into a variety of subspecies. Alganite Belatorian Dranner Efanian Gallanite Gralshadi With their ruddy, earthy skintones that tended to clash with brighter marking and eye colors, the Gralshadi had a reputation for being down-to-earth. Their country was broad and lacked a strong central government; as such, its citizens were mostly reliant on their local communities and on themselves. This led to the Gralshadi overall being hardier than other nations over time; the typical Gralshadi had somewhat broad shoulders and less of an inclination to magic in their blood. Where other nations might have had lithe, tall individuals, the Gralshadi were slightly shorter and stockier. Still, the occasional sorcerous bloodline or other aptitude towards magic would sometimes spontaneously manifest in a family; the families that did bear these bloodlines, even if a given individual did not display any real affinity for magic, tended to have paler skintones like those of the neighboring Ores. Alternate Racial Traits (D&D 3.5e/Pathfinder) Gralshadi characters, instead of the default precursor racial statistics, may choose +2 Constitution and -2 Intelligence or +2 Charisma and -2 Dexterity. The Gralshadi had an eclectic mix of religion and culture from their long travels abroad, enabled by their relative hardiness, and they relied greatly on their speaking ability rather than combat reflexes to carry them out of trouble. Gralshadi characters may have +2 Knowledge (Local) instead of +2 Disguise because of Gralshad's status as a trading crossroads prior to its destruction. Even if they only heard rumors of other countries, the Gralshadi tended to be more aware of any and all news that passed through their villages. Forsworn Due to necromantic influence from their wards and reliance on the magic, the people of Forsworn had extraordinarily pale and washed out skintones compared to other precursors. They might have had more vibrant eyes or markings at times, and there were no known incidences of a Forsworn precursor having pure white hair or markings, even if some of them (especially among the ascended) may have had especially light grey hair or markings as they aged and were exposed to more auras of necromancy. Even living Forsworn precursors would have faint glows compared to Miourans from other nations; the few aware of the presence of Forsworn scouts throughout the world may have used the strength of the glow from the eyes or skin as a sign that the Forsworn were among them. Alternate Racial Traits (D&D 3.5e/Pathfinder) Forsworn characters, instead of the default precursor racial statistics, may choose +2 Wisdom and -2 Constitution or +2 Intelligence and -2 Strength to indicate their ascent or descent through the ranks of the Forsworn. Some Forsworn are more attuned to the spiritual world and divine powers of necromancy, or they might seek to understand the world in its fullness. In either case, their bodies are weaker and more destitute. Those who are Forsworn often find it harder to disguise themselves, but they learn through experience to sense trouble before it happens. Instead of +2 Disguise, a Forsworn character may choose to have +2 Sense Motive instead. Forsworn characters may have Spell Focus (Necromancy) as a bonus feat. However, taking this feat and progressing further down the path of necromancy leaves them more susceptible to the influence of magic. By taking this ability, the character has -1 to their Will save rather than +1. Lantrolian Mathrazdian Orian Queenslayer Rethite The Rethites might have resembled Orians in concordant coloration, but they tended to have few markings, and the ones they did have were plain as could be, mostly straight lines that might intersect in V or W shapes. It was common for Rethites to not have any markings whatsoever beyond these plain markings on their faces; the rest of their bodies would be solid colored. A curved or an abundance of bodily markings upon a Rethite indicated heritage from another country, likely the neighboring Ores. Instead of markings, they inscribed truenames upon their body and carefully guarded them with their lives. Alternate Racial Traits (3.5e and Pathfinder) A Rethite character often comes from a background of truenaming, even if they themselves do not seek to master the art. Instead of the default racial ability Ainori's Legacy, a Rethite character can choose one truenamer 1st level utterance to know and cast as a truenamer equal to their character level once per day. If the character is a truenamer or has a class that grants an utterance class feature, then the character adds one extra utterance to their known utterances list at the first level they acquire this class feature. They cast the utterance as normal through whatever class grants the utterance class feature. A Rethite with this ability may not choose the Favored Enemy alternative racial. Some Rethites know the truenames of certain creatures and use that knowledge against them. Instead of the default racial ability Ainori's Legacy, a Rethite character may choose one Favored Enemy, as in the ranger ability. Unlike the ranger ability, this racial ability does not scale with the character's level unless they have the Favored Enemy class feature; in this case, this ability scales with the character's class level that grants the ability as normal. A Rethite with this ability may not choose the truenamer bonus utterances alternative racial. Rethites were raised to speak truenames with ease, uttering them as they might speak their native tongue. A Rethite character may choose to take Skill Focus (Truespeak) as a bonus feat. This affinity for truenames is marked upon their bodies, however, and they receive -2 Disguise instead of +2 Disguise for often being unable to hide their status as truenamers. Shekzardi The denizens of the war-like Shekzard prided themselves on their unusual, distinctive appearances. Bright and vibrant colors, especially those that clashed or were otherwise very distinct from each other, were extremely common amongst them and considered the mark of a typical Shekzardi individual. Their markings tended to be erratic, complicated, and asymmetrical, and particularly distinctive markings could even become family crests if they appeared across generations frequently enough. Full heterochromia also occurred at a high rate among the Shekzardi people, and most families would have at least one individual whose eyes were different colors. Alternate Racial Traits (D&D 3.5e/Pathfinder) Shekzardi characters, instead of the default precursor racial statistics, may choose +2 Strength and -2 Wisdom or +2 Intelligence and -2 Dexterity to represent their character's upbringing in a nation that focused on strength at the expense of awareness or a tactical mind at the expense of a lithe body. Shekzardi characters may have +2 Knowledge (Fortifications) because of Shekzard's focus on war and military tactics; even the lowliest of peasants is demanded to know military formations should they ever have to take up arms. This ability replaces the +2 Disguise from the default precursor racial abilities. Slizthan Twined Zalnen Category:EXAMPLE